Our early August was mostly about preparation. We’d be going on our trip to Niagara Falls and Toronto during the first full week of the month, and then the kids would be starting school almost immediately thereafter. Prep for vacation. Prep for school. Prep for soccer. Prep for music.

It’s as good a reference point as any, I suppose (as seen at Jerry’s Artarama)

The kids had been doing a lot of work getting their rooms overhauled. We had challenged them to go through piles of old stuff and make hard choices about which things they had to keep and which things could go, and then to organize the things they were keeping. This is particularly hard for Maya, who doesn’t like to let anything go, ever.

They did a good job and so early in the month, we agreed to take them to Jerry’s Artarama, a local art store. Though the store has apparently been around since 1968, none of us had been before. It is immense and overwhelming and clearly populated with folks who have a sense of humor. It took quite a while for the kids to go through the store and make their selections.

One woman overheard Sean and I talking Ian out of buying certain materials for making his very own bow and arrow (because we were certain that his idea wasn’t going to function the way he wanted it to). She came over to talk to me to let me know that I shouldn’t talk my daughter out of wood-working projects – that she herself was a wood-worker and laments that her parents weren’t more supportive. I calmly explained that the long-haired creature in question was, in fact, a boy. I explained we were trying to find a way to make his idea work; not poo-poo it entirely. And then I explained that I was a working electrical engineer and not bound to standard gender roles. I know she meant well and part of me appreciates her standing up for my kid’s interests, but I also know that I felt some satisfaction at having set her straight.

We made sure everyone had fitting clothes, fitting shoes, functioning backpacks, lunch boxes, etc. We made last minute arrangements for our trip. We pack, pack, packed. And then, we went on our vacation to Niagara Falls and Toronto. We arrived in very late from traveling on Saturday night. Had one good day to recover, and then it was back to the grind.

Maya the 4th grader and Ian the 2nd grader

School started right away on August 15th. We weren’t allowed to take the kids to their classrooms. No one really talks about COVID anymore at school, so I’m guessing this is a reaction to the horrific school shooting at Uvalde.

The kids both tell me they really like their teachers, and they seem to have settled into their routines pretty quickly. Ian has Maya’s second grade teacher and is doing really well so far. Maya was pleased that she’s in the same classroom as her best friend Maclin.

Mac and Cheese on the top, Kraft Dinner on the bottom

One night after school started, we decided to test out Canadian Kraft Dinner against United States Mac and Cheese. I’m honestly kind of ambivalent about both of them, so Sean and the kids will need to try to remember what they preferred. Quantities of butter and milk called for varied between the products. The two macaroni dishes ended up looking somewhat different and tasting marginally different. Either way, I’m content to leave it to the rest of the household.

The kids’ music school, Monarch Suzuki, effectively ceased to exist at the end of July, and so they’ve both been transitioning to new music education setups. The spectacular thing is that they’ve both been able to stay with their same teachers from Monarch. With this have come new music lesson schedules. The kids also both wanted to sign up for fall soccer, so we have added soccer practice schedules and will soon be attending weekend games. Maya’s old enough that she’s been transitioned to a traveling league this year.  And Maya has joined an after school music group that will be putting on a musical at the end of the semester. So far, we’ve more or less managed to make all of this work, but it’s been a bit of a juggling act.

Ian McCulloch – lead singer for Echo and the Bunnymen, ill but soldiering on

A week after the kids went back to school, we got to go to a concert. Echo and the Bunnymen, Sean’s favorite band, were supposed to have been at the Cruel World festival we attended last spring, but they failed to show up due to some BS about visas. This time, they had to cancel a couple of tour dates ahead of Austin for “unforeseen circumstances” so we were sweating it right up to the concert date.

Will Sergeant, lead guitarist for Echo and the Bunnymen

Alas, they showed up! And while there were a few stops here and there and what seemed to be a slightly shortened set, the show was great! Their wonderful guitarist in shows past seemed to make a sport of watching his feet, hanging back in the shadows and never looking at the crowd. Not this time. He was engaged and looking at the crowd. He seemed to be completely in his element. He seemed to be having fun. Despite the lead singer’s illness, they sounded great. And at the end, Sean managed to get a set list and a guitar pick! We couldn’t have asked for better.

In the big snow and ice event in winter of 2021, several of our trees took some pretty severe damage. We let it ride for a full year to see what would recover and what was truly dead. After nearly being murdered by a falling limb, we decided to take care of business. It took a day and a half, spread over probably a month or so, but it is now all done. I saved a chunk of one of the larger tree trunks to use as a stand for a new birdbath, recently purchase to replace one that was lost during last winter’s one real freeze.

Nox on amp with bass guitar

The kids had liked the Korean rice dogs we had in Toronto so well, that Sean went looking for a local place that served them – and found one! Oh K-Dog can be found in the H-Mart shopping center. The kids were delighted to have more of the rice dogs. They could sprinkle on their own toppings and try out a variety of self-serve dipping sauces. H-Mart was insanely busy on a Saturday, and I was ready to leave when it was time, but we enjoyed our lunch and got some fun goodies from the grocery store.

With our newly minted Insane Schedule, we haven’t planned a single “fun” thing for September. We will have to see if there’s any weekend room left after two kids’ soccer and music schedules are met. That aside, after a couple of exceedingly weird pandemic years, it definitely feels like a return to normalcy. We vacationed more or less like normal over the summer. The kids went to school like normal (with the addition of heightened security). They’re being invited to birthday parties (which we are now likely to allow them to attend) and hanging out with classmates like normal.